Month by month
Garden jobs for February: getting ready for spring
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This month | This month in February |
February can feel like a stubborn extension of winter, with some of the coldest nights of the year and the occasional heavy snowfall, especially in northern England, Scotland and on high ground. Yet the light is noticeably stronger by the end of the month, birds are singing at dawn, and in sheltered southern and coastal gardens the first daffodils and crocuses are already open. Treat this as a month of preparation. Work outside on dry, mild days, keep off sodden soil, and get a few sowings going indoors so you are ready to move when spring arrives in earnest.
Flowers and borders
Late February is the moment to cut back deciduous ornamental grasses such as miscanthus, before the fresh shoots grow tall enough to be snipped by accident. Shear the old stems down to a few centimetres above the base. Evergreen grasses need only a comb through with gloved fingers to pull out dead blades.
Prune late-flowering clematis, the ones that bloom from July onwards on this year’s growth. Cut every stem back to a pair of healthy buds about 30cm above the ground. It feels brutal, but it keeps the flowers at eye level rather than in a tangle at the top of the support. Early-flowering kinds such as Clematis montana should not be pruned now, or you will lose this spring’s display. Read more on our clematis page.
In the south, you can prune buddleja hard at the end of the month, taking stems back to a low framework of woody stubs. In colder areas, wait until March so frost does not damage the new shoots. Cut red-barked dogwood stems to near the base every year or two in late February or early March: the bright colour comes from young wood.
Divide congested clumps of snowdrops just after they finish flowering, while the leaves are still green. Lift the clump, tease it into smaller groups and replant at the same depth straight away.
Vegetables
Cover a bed with cloches, fleece or black plastic sheeting to warm and dry the soil ahead of early sowings. In the south, broad beans and early peas can be sown outdoors under cover towards the end of the month if conditions allow; elsewhere, start them in pots or lengths of guttering in a cold greenhouse.
Indoors, a heated propagator or warm windowsill lets you sow tomatoes, chillies, sweet peppers and aubergines, which need a long season. Sow onions and leeks in modules, and plant shallot sets in pots or straight into well-drained soil in milder spots. Keep chitting seed potatoes in a cool, bright place.
Finish digging over any heavy clay beds you plan to use this year, but only when the soil does not stick to the spade. Lighter, sandy soils are best left until just before sowing.
Fruit
Complete winter pruning of apples and pears before buds break. Feed fruit trees and bushes with a general fertiliser, and mulch with compost or well-rotted manure, keeping it clear of the trunks. Cover early-flowering peach and nectarine trees on walls with a clear plastic screen to keep off the rain that spreads peach leaf curl, and hand-pollinate the blossom with a soft brush, as few insects are about. Plant new rhubarb crowns and force established clumps with an upturned bucket or forcing jar for tender pink stems in a few weeks.
Lawns
Lawns are still largely dormant, so keep foot traffic to a minimum. Rake up leaves and debris, brush away worm casts and check edges. On light soils in mild southern gardens, the first cut of the year may be due near the end of the month: set the mower at its highest setting and only cut if the grass is dry. Repair broken lawn edges by cutting out a square of turf, turning it round so the damaged side faces inward, and filling the gap with soil and seed later in spring.
Wildlife
Birds begin looking for nest sites now, so this is your last chance to put up boxes before they pair up. Keep feeding, as natural food is at its scarcest in late winter. Frogs may start spawning in garden ponds from mid-February in the south-west, a little later elsewhere; keep part of the pond surface free of ice, and never pour boiling water on it. Early bumblebee queens appear on mild sunny days and need nectar: hellebores, crocuses and winter-flowering heathers are lifelines.
Indoors and under cover
Sow sweet peas in deep pots if you did not sow in autumn, and pinch out autumn-sown ones when they have three or four pairs of leaves to encourage bushy growth. Start dahlia tubers into growth in pots of compost in a frost-free greenhouse if you want cuttings later. Ventilate on sunny days, water sparingly and watch for aphids on overwintering plants. Wash pots and trays before sowing so seedlings do not pick up damping-off diseases.
Plants looking good this month
February often brings the first real colour of the year:
- Snowdrops are at their peak in drifts under trees and hedges.
- Hellebores flower in shady borders, best seen when planted on a bank.
- Crocuses open wide in sunshine and close again on dull days.
- Daffodils such as early miniature types begin in mild areas.
- Sweet box still scents doorways and paths.
- Camellias start opening in sheltered spots; give them a west-facing aspect so frosted buds thaw slowly.
- Pulmonaria begins to show its pink and blue flowers.
Catch up with January jobs or plan ahead with March jobs.
From the plant finder
In flower in February
Good time to plant
Due for pruning
Grow your own in February
Sow now
Plant out
Ready to harvest
Problems to watch for in February
Spotted something else? Diagnose it by symptom.